215. Unknown (Mentor) 35mm Leica-Forerunner

Recently discovered, unknown camera for 35mm film, negative format 24x34mm. The substantial oval body (156x58x52/70 mm, 650gr) is made from sheet aluminium. The shape reminds of the Krauss EKA, but it is slightly larger. With a Rüo-Optik GmbH Caleinar 2/5cm lens no.21401, uncoated, a fast 4-element Anastigmat, which was only produced in 1920–1922. The Rouleau shutter lies halfway between the lens and the film plane and offered exposure times 1/10 to 1/500 and Z by varying the slit between the two curtains (shutter needs repair, only one curtain moves). The bigger wheel is for tensioning the shutter and setting the exposure time, the slightly smaller wheel on the left side transports the film (the film is wound on a big spool of 40mm in diameter, darkroom loading only). The finder is an inverted Galilean design with parallax correction. Between the winding knob and the finder the former owner has mounted a table with poetic diaphragm setting suggestions (ranges from “f/12,5 - distant view, sun” to “f/2 - in the forest”), hand-written in German. Unlike in most other 35mm cameras the whole mechanism including the lens is fixed to the top plate and can be lifted out of the body shell after releasing a slide in the middle of the bottom. There is a hinged spring loaded pressure plate for the film, the release button is in front of the shutter winding knob. The camera is well designed (e.g. the rouleau shutter, which anticipates later focal plane shutters), definitely no handicraft, possibly it was made by a major German camera manufacturer (some parts look like Mentor made) to test the possibilities of photography on cine film.

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